Manual controllers for manipulating images or symbols on a visual display of a computer device include, for example, joysticks, game pads, steering wheels, guns, mice, remote devices for television, stored multi-media display and recording machines, cellular telephones, portable video game systems, portable multi-media devices, tablets, and keyboards. One prevalent type of manual controller is a hand-held game controller, which comprises a control section having a plurality of buttons that the user presses to enter commands and hand grips that the user holds when the user operates the manual controller. The hand-held game controller is used for controlling video games. Some video games require a user to perform several input actions, such as button pushes, joystick movements, and trigger pulls, on a controller to achieve the desired outcome of a game on the display screen. Multiple repetitions of these actions can over time be tedious, time consuming, and susceptible to mistakes.
One way to reduce the number of game controller actions by a user is use of third-party programs. For example, in the case of the Minecraft™ building survival video game, a .schematic file format has been created by users to store sections of a Minecraft™ game world for use with third-party programs, including MCElit, Minecraft™ Song Planner, Redstone Simulator, and WorldEdit. There are many websites that “host” schematics for upload and download.
The interest in schematics is two-fold. Individuals hosting Minecraft™ game servers can readily populate their Minecraft™ game worlds without taking the many hours of time necessary to build common structures to entire Minecraft™ game worlds. Regular users who want to add excitement to their Minecraft™ game worlds or do not possess sufficient creative skills to build such structures can enhance their game play experience by accessing schematics of structures built by other users. The regular users can then import and use in their Minecraft™ game worlds the building structures created by other users.
The problem with schematics is that importing a schematic file into a Minecraft™ world necessitates above-average user understanding as to how to install modifications to the Minecraft™ video game program. An incorrectly installed modification could break the installation of the Minecraft™ video game program. Moreover, such modifications are version specific, so that, for example, a schematic file written for a Minecraft™ version 1.4 program cannot be installed on a computer on which a Minecraft™ version 1.8 program is running.
To demonstrate the number and complexity of steps performed to import a schematic file, applicant presents as Appendix 1 the steps required for use of the WorldEdit program to import a schematic file. Appendix 1 makes abundantly clear that importing a schematic entails a lot of effort (i.e., more than 20 steps performed) by a user who possesses above-average knowledge of computing and technical aptitude to successfully complete a schematic installation.
The Minecraft™ game program built into the Minecraft™ PC offers a Clone command, which a user can actuate to carry out a multi-step process of copying and pasting the user's own building structures. The use of the Clone command also requires above-average knowledge of computing to successfully carry out the copy and paste process. For example, the Clone process entails extensive manipulation of structural block coordinates of source and destination regions. A capability for either importing a schematic or performing the Cloning method is available only on a computer, i.e., not on a console.
An added ability to automate the variety of hand-held game controller input actions that are sometimes necessary to achieve the desired output is the basis of preferred embodiments disclosed.